Pinned
by MaddieStJ
Summary: HenryBetty. It's Just Something She Knows.
1. A Walk to First

Title:Pinned

Author: MaddieStJ

Rated: K

Category: General

Keywords: Betty/Ignacio/Henry/Other Character

Spoilers: None

Summary: It's Just Something _She _Knows

Disclaimer: _Ugly Betty_ is the property of Silent H Productions, Reveille and Ventanarosa, and Touchstone Television.

This story is from the windmills of my mind.

Shout outs and thanks to spiceandnice for liking the title and to lumosthecat for being my beta. You guys rock!

- - - - -

Chapter One – A Walk to First 

Another long day, no, make that a long week at MODE.

Rotating her neck to get out the kinks, Betty began setting things up for Monday. She had follow up calls to make and appointments to confirm so she was prioritizing her To-Do list. Right now, she was looking forward to the weekend.

She'd practically spent the entire day at her desk on the phone doing things for Daniel and for Alexis who didn't have her own assistant yet. _Why did it seem like the days_ _were getting shorter? _She could never really remember the specifics, but she knew someone who did. _Yeah, it would be just something he knew_. She smiled at the fleeting thought and returned to her list.

She sighed as the phone on her desk rang for the umpteenth time today. She really wanted to finish up and go home. However, she didn't want to risk missing the call, in case it was someone calling back giving her the chance to cross whatever it was off her already heavy To-Do list.

"Daniel Meade's office. Betty Suarez speaking."

"Betty."

"Dad? Is there something wrong?"

"No. I'm downstairs in the lobby of your building. Are you finished for the day?"

Puzzled, she asked, "Almost. Why?"

Ignacio chuckled into the phone. "Justin and Hilda have something to do for the evening, my stories are over and I didn't feel like staying at home. I thought I'd come into the city and see if you would like to do something with your father."

Betty smiled. Glancing at a notation in the left hand corner of her electronic calendar, she knew where this was going. "Give me ten minutes," she said laughing and began to shut down her computer.

- - - - -

Riding the subway with her father reminded Betty of the times when she was younger and they would have 'adventures'. As she sorted through her memories, she recalled the time Ignacio had taken her to the observation deck of the World Trade Center on the weekend of her Quinceanera. The security checks were a bit frightening, but after they were whisked to the 107th floor indoor observatory, she was greeted with a 360- degree view of the New York City skyline. They even took the escalators up to the top. The view was breathtaking. She had felt dwarfed by the height of the building and humbled by the unobstructed view. The weather was so clear that day, so that no matter which way you turned, you could see for miles.

She remembered feeling her father's warm hands on her shoulders as she pressed her hands on the railing and looked out over the Manhattan skyline. "M'ija. With the celebration of your Quinceanera, you're a young woman now. You can have, be and do whatever you want in life. _Lo que en los libros no está, la vida te enseñará. _You just have to believe it in your heart and not be afraid to take chances." Emerging from the memory, she noticed they were near their stop and she glanced sideways at Ignacio, her heart warming at the sight of him. _I love my Dad_, she thought to herself.

- - - - -

Once the doors opened there was the usual crowd of people jockeying for position to get off and onto the train. Getting caught trying to get around a young man with a large suitcase, both Betty and Ignacio were pushed forward and rather forcibly ejected from the train along with another passenger.

"Excuse me."

"Excuse us."

With a 'No worries', the woman veered left and took off at a rapid pace. All Betty caught was a glimpse of a baseball cap, a long braid, glasses and...

"M'ija, look at the back of her jacket. It says Homestead Grays 1912-1950, Negro World Champions," commented Ignacio, pointing, as he and Betty watched her hurrying to her destination. "That's a fan. She obviously knows her baseball history."

"Yes, Dad," replied Betty, looking at her watch, walking faster. "But if we don't hurry, we're going to be late."

They arrived at the top of the stairs in time to see the woman raise her arm and yell across the street as the light changed and she began to cross. "Rico."

"Toni."

Betty was startled to hear a familiar voice answer the hail and see the familiar face of…

_Henry._

Betty watched Henry smile at the woman and gesture to her as she arrived on the opposite side of the street. _Where's Charlie? _She wondered.

She watched the woman (_'Toni'_ she corrected herself), smile up at Henry and turn around modeling her jacket. She then watched her turn Henry around and point at his New York Mets jacket and cap. Betty was so caught up in this tableau, she didn't realize that the light had changed in their favor and Ignacio had stepped off into the crosswalk ahead of her. She hurried to catch up.

"Come on, M'ija, I want to get a good table."

Catching up and turning her attention to the man beside her, Betty laughed and replied, "Dad. How long have we been coming to Beto's? We always get a good table." She wound her arm through her father's and proceeded to cross the street. It wasn't until they'd gotten up onto the curb that she realized she'd lost sight of Henry and Toni. _I wonder what that was all about._

- - - - -

Henry and Toni found a table with a fairly unobstructed view of the big screen and commandeered it. They both loved Beto's. It was in the neighborhood, had been around for a long time, was divey in its way, had no weird pretensions and great food 'even corndogs', exclaimed Toni…which, said Henry, they only bring out because I think some of those old men have a crush on you. Toni's reaction, anytime Henry mentioned that, would be to merely stick her tongue out at him.

After going through a similar routine again with her, Henry laughed. "It's true you know. I've come in here alone and they look at me and then at the door. When you don't come in, after a while…" he trailed off.

"You know you really need to quit it," shot back Toni, punching him in the arm and picking up a menu from the table. "Heard from Charlie lately?"

"No." He fidgeted with his glasses for a moment before adding, "You know the breakup was not amicable."

"Hmph. On her part." Toni rolled her eyes. "Know what you want?"

"Almost." He studied the menu. "And I still feel badly about the boys."

"They still love you, and they're glad to be able to hang around with you again. It's spring, and they're looking forward to going to the park with you."

Henry smiled and they both continued to peruse the menu. The room began to fill up.

"So," said Toni, still looking at the menu, "tell me how things are going with _you know_," she leaned into Henry and whispered, "your woman, the real one, the most wonderful…."

"Betty!"

Toni looked up at Henry, whose attention was suddenly diverted away from her and then followed his line of sight. Peering through the dimness, she spied two familiar figures.

"I recognize them."

"What? You do? How?" Startled, Henry turned back towards Toni.

"We were on the same train just now. Of course I didn't know this was their destination." Smiling widely, and ignoring Henry, who had caught hold of her jacket sleeve, she got up, pried his fingers loose and approached them.

"Fellow riders of the storm. Come and sit with us! We've a got a great table!"

Herding them toward the table, she flashed a wicked little grin at Henry. _This should prove to be very interesting._

- - - - -

Henry groaned. _Great. Just great, _he thought to himself as he watched Toni approach Betty. His gut clenched a little as he vividly recalled the day he realized that he may have lost any chance that he had to be with her

_- flashback -_

It was the last day of March. He was hoping against hope that Betty would bring down Daniel's expense report. She always had before. Her handing it in would guarantee him at least one opportunity a month to see her, after everything that had happened.

When he glanced at the clock he saw that it was 10:25. She still had five minutes before the deadline and he knew that she always did like to cut it close. He pulled an Inter-Office envelope from his Inbox to bide his time while he waited for Betty and removed the contents. He perused the sheets thinking - _This report looks all in order. _When he went back to the beginning to scrutinize the report a bit more thoroughly the name at the top caught his eye and caused his chest to tighten and his breath to catch. Daniel Meade. _Oh God, no. Please no._

He recalled their last conversation up in her office the day after Charlie's birthday party.

'_So what does that make us?' he asked._

'_Two people who work in the same building,' she replied._

'_Oh. Ok.' And he had turned and left. _

Realization came swiftly. He was not going to see her again. It hurt to breathe. Looking at the clock on his desk, the illuminated numbers telling him that the time was now 10:32 was the final nail in his coffin.

_- end flashback -_

_And I haven't seen her since_, he thought morosely to himself.

TBC

- - - - -

Translation: That which isn't in books, life will teach you.


	2. Bunting to Advance the Runner

Disclaimers are all with Chapter One.

Finally!!! Here is Chapter Two. Folks have been nagging, um, demanding, um, strongly requesting the next chapter. And here it is. Thanks to my beta, Lumosthecat. I appreciate you all liking the mystery that is Toni. Hopefully, you'll continue to like her. And, oh yes, like the knucklehead I can sometimes be, I had the anonymous review thing turned off, but it's on now, Baby! So read, enjoy and review!

And now on with this magnum opus…

_Previously from Chapter One:_

_---_

"M'ija, look at the back of her jacket. It says Homestead Grays 1912-1950, Negro World Champions," commented Ignacio, pointing, as he and Betty watched her hurrying to her destination. "That's a fan. She obviously knows her baseball history."

--

They arrived at the top of the stairs in time to see the woman raise her arm and yell across the street as the light changed and she began to cross. "Rico."

"Toni."

Betty was startled to hear a familiar voice answer the hail and see the familiar face of…

_Henry._

_---_

'So what does that make us?' he asked.

'Two people who work in the same building,' she replied.

'Oh. Ok.'And he had turned and left.

--

When he glanced at the clock he saw that it was 10:25. She still had five minutes before the deadline and he knew that she always did like to cut it close. He pulled an Inter-Office envelope from his Inbox to bide his time while he waited for Betty and removed the contents. He perused the sheets thinking - _This report looks all in order. _When he went back to the beginning to scrutinize the report a bit more thoroughly the name at the top caught his eye and caused his chest to tighten and his breath to catch. Daniel Meade. _Oh God, no. Please no._

Realization came swiftly. He was not going to see her again. It hurt to breathe. Looking at the clock on his desk, the illuminated numbers telling him that the time was now 10:32am was the final nail in his coffin.

--

"Come on, M'ija, I want to get a good table."

Catching up and turning her attention to the man beside her, Betty laughed and replied, "Dad. How long have we been coming to Beto's? We always get a good table."

_**- End-**_

Chapter Two – Bunting to Advance the Runner

Upon entering the dimly lit Beto's, it took Father and daughter a minute to adjust their eyes. Stumbling, Betty came to a sudden stop, causing Ignacio to almost knock her over as she tried to orient herself to the room.

Moving forward she peered through the darkness looking for a table. Distantly, she could hear Ignacio exchanging greetings with people he knew as he followed along behind her.

_It looks packed in here_, Betty thought to herself. The Subway Series, as it was called between the Yankees and the Mets, brought out crowds of people who either couldn't get a ticket or who just wanted to watch the game at their favorite sports bar, like Beto's and enjoy the camaraderie and good food. Tonight was no exception.

There were some seats open at the bar, she noted, but she didn't like sitting at the bar so she continued to look around the room. People were milling around in clusters when all of a sudden like the parting of the Red Sea, people began stepping aside for someone coming through the crowd. And that someone was walking right toward her. Betty's eyes widened.

_Crap. It's that Toni person. Henry's friend. Henry's _female_ friend. She could see that the person's mouth was moving, but she couldn't make out the words with the dull roar of panic resounding in her head._

Ignacio had just finished a short conversation and upon turning, barely manage to avoid bumping into his daughter. "Mi amor? Do you see a table?" Getting no answer, he looked up and saw the woman from the subway approaching them and listened to her extend the invitation to join them. He gratefully accepted.

Betty attempted to stifle the panic rising up inside of her as she fought to not turn around and make a break for it. Her father, having noticed, had taken a hold of her elbow and was half dragging, half coaxing her to follow the woman.

_Henry. He's the last person I want to see. Fate is not awesome; fate is evil! _She mentally grimaced, vainly hoping this was another one of her dreams/nightmares, but knew it wasn'tShe gave a resigned sigh and let herself be dragged to her doom.

_--_

Henry watched Toni talking to Betty and her father. Once he saw the trio headed toward the table he got up and rearranged the chairs into a semi circle so everyone would be facing the television screen. He was standing when Toni returned with the Suarezes. Staring at Betty, he found that his thoughts were jumbled, mouth dry, palms sweaty, and stomach churning. His hands fidgeted briefly with the menu to buy himself some time before having to speak. He didn't trust his voice to remain steady at that moment. Noticing her friend's awkwardness and hesitation, Toni pulled out the chair next to Henry and sat down. The others followed suit.

"My name is Toni and this is my friend Henry."

"I'm Betty and this is my father, Ignacio," Betty paused briefly before continuing, "I actually know Henry, we work in the same building," she finally stated, avoiding Henry's gaze.

"Thank you for offering us seats at your table," said Ignacio, filling the silence following Betty's announcement. He stared curiously at Henry. _So_ **this**_ is m'ija's Henry. _ _There cannot possibly be __**two**__ Henry's she knows._

"You're welcome. A pleasure meeting both of you. I'm just glad we were able to find one in a good spot that seated four." Another long silence followed her statement. Toni mentally rolled her eyes_. I wonder if this evening will be an episode of the Spanish Inquisition or My Favorite Root Canal_. Just when she was about to step on Henry's foot, he spoke up.

"Hi Betty. It's nice to see you outside of the office. And it's a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Suarez," said Henry, smiling and extended his hand across Toni to Ignacio. "I, um, couldn't help but notice you seem to know many people in here. Have you been coming to Beto's long?"

"Since it opened twenty years ago," Ignacio replied. "I know the owners, the Duarte family."

"Really?" asked Toni. I know the son, Kyle. He's the chef at Límon. The food is great there."

A waitress worked her way through the crowd and approached their table. "Good evening. Have you decided what you want yet?"

"Hi Elmy," replied Henry. "I think we need a couple more minutes."

Elmy looked up from her pad and laughed as she recognized the people sitting at the table. "Rico! Toni! And Betty and Tio Ignacio. My favorite people." She laughed again. "Ok, I'll be back in a bit to take your food orders. The usual for drinks?" Everyone nodded and Elmy made her way back to the bar.

Betty picked up the menu in front of her and had trouble focusing on it. Her heart was racing. She hadn't seen Henry in almost two months and even though she didn't want to admit it, she missed him. She really did.

Her throat closed a little as memories of Henry flashed through her mind. His sudden appearances on the MODE floor; the trivia; the nervous movements; his shyness, the unexpected compliments he always managed to pay her; him bringing her the better fitting MODE t-shirt and making her laugh while she was working the fashion tent; conversations at the pretzel cart on the corner, in the elevator, the cafeteria, the laughter…she just missed Henry.

But, she reminded herself, there was still Charlie. She assumed that their relationship was still motoring along. Even knowing it would be hard; she had basically cut him off at the knees (_I finally understand what that means_, she thought to herselfwith her 'two people in the same building' comment. She'd felt like a third wheel. She was honest enough with herself to realize that hanging out with Henry and Charlie would soon make her resent them both and eventually, lead her to hate them. _There's a reason they're called 'odd numbers', _she thought bitterly to herself.

When he had come by her desk to drop off paychecks, she knew it was: for the ruse to come see her as Henry had never, ever been the one to deliver paychecks, she had wanted to ignore her plans to not talk to him, especially after hearing him rattle off the answers to all of her flashcards. The urge to reach out and make contact with him, to call out his name as he walked away reciting why Cinderella was her favorite fairy tale princess had been so strong. But she couldn't forget about Charlie and so, she'd strengthened her resolve and decided to make a better attempt at cutting the cord by sending Daniel's expense report through the interoffice mail. And it worked. To some degree, at least.

But each day was hard. Getting on the elevator was always a tense time, but she had decided that she wouldn't run up and down the stairwell to avoid him. She had admonished Daniel for doing it to avoid Sofia and she couldn't be hypocritical and do the same thing to avoid Henry.

Nights, unfortunately, were the worse. At least four out of seven nights, Henry would turn up in her dreams.

She knew that he had probably spent almost 24/7 at work during the first part of April due to taxes and the latter part of the month to catch up on the rest of his work. At the end of the month, she'd sent Daniel's report down again through I/O mail and that seemed to be the end of impromptu visits.

Now here it was, the middle of May and here she was sitting at a table in Beto's. With Henry sitting across from her, starting intently at his menu. With Henry and yet _another_ woman. And this one was either Black, Latina and pretty.

She didn't know if she wanted to scream or cry.

Staring sadly at the blurred words in front of her, she thought, "_I may never be able to come in here with Dad again."_

--

Ignacio was glad to be out of the house and at Beto's. During his House Arrest, he hadn't even been able to come and see his friends and hang out for any of the spring training games _and I missed the Menudo Challenge._ On the pretext of looking at the menu that he knew by heart, he watched the interaction between Betty and Henry and Henry and Toni. Ignacio could feel something wasn't quite as it should be, and he could almost put his finger on it.

He had known with some certainty, that once Betty had gotten the job at MODE in Manhattan and seeing how busy she was becoming and the responsibilities that she was growing into, that her relationship with Walter would be ending. _My little girl is growing up and making her way out into the world. _ Unfortunately, Walter either could not or would not see that nor accept her evolution and now he and Betty were no longer together.

However, a few weeks before the breakup, Betty had begun to mention someone named Henry in passing and after Fashion Week, had mentioned him a bit more frequently. He realized Hilda knew who Henry was because sometimes she would tease Betty about him and Ignacio would watch Betty grin, blush, and laugh that little laugh that showed she was a bit embarrassed. As he watched his daughter and the young man studiously avoid eye contact, he thought back to what he thought of as _La noche de caos. _(Night of Chaos

Between Betty running up and down the stairs, Dr. Farkas being referred to as Henry and having to assure people that he was **not** Henry or that some reference to something actually **was** about Henry and trying to escape (and yes, that was the only way to think about it really) from what he probably considered a lunatic asylum, Claire Meade, that damned ankle bracelet (it was gone now and so was Constance along with what Hilda informed him was a weave! And now he was merely himself and not a snack food! _Dios Mio!_), police helicopters and news people out in front of his house, he had been surprised that not too many of his neighbors were out in the street. But he knew they were looking out through their curtains.

Over the past few weeks, Ignacio had watched Betty smile less and less and adopt a routine. She would get up very early, leave with no breakfast, go to work and come home at the same time, unless she called ahead and had something extra to do for Daniel or Alexis, barely speak during dinner, and then go to bed. He considered calling Daniel to find out what he knew, but knew he could not violate Betty's privacy.

Ignacio watched Betty and Henry look up, catch each other's eye and quickly look elsewhere. As he put down the menu and glanced around, he caught Toni's eye and realized she had been watching them as well. _I wonder what she is to Henry._

--

This is **not** good! Henry sighed mentally. Being at the table with Betty was exhausting, excruciating, and exhilarating all at the same time. So close and yet so far. The memory of the almost kiss still haunted him.

I miss her. I want to talk to her. I want to see that gorgeous smile and that cute twinkle she gets in her eye. I want to know what's she's been up to. I want to touch her hair. I want to see her blush when I pay her a compliment. I want to be caught up in all that energy she puts out when she's excited. I want to feel my hands tingle when I get on the elevator and press the button for 28. Toni was so right to be angry with me! But not as angry as I am with myself! My time with Charlie was a hideous misstep. This situation right now proves it so effectively.

Henry thought back to the first incident with Toni that involved Charlie.

That had been the day he'd told Betty about his then unnamed girl friend coming into town the previous evening and them trying to make it work and how she had Walter and they could use the tickets go to Wicked together. He had seen Betty's shock and disappointment but didn't understand it at the time.

The day had been busy but sad for Henry and he had not made any attempt to go back up to the MODE floor. He remembered something important he had to deal with after work and left promptly at five. Smiling, he opened the door to his loft, but nothing happened. He thought about it, considered the date and knew he wasn't wrong. He parked his briefcase on the desk, put his overcoat in the hall closet and went into the bedroom to change from his work clothes. There in the middle of the bed sat Charlie knees drawn up to her chin. He had forgotten all about her being in New York. In his loft. And he had forgotten something else as well.

With her voice shaking, Charlie looked over at him. "Henry, there were…"

"Yes, I know. I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you. I know that you…"

"They were in here and I screamed and a woman came in and demanded to know who I was! I tried to tell her who I was, b-b-b-ut they were in here, and…and….

Henry sat down on the bed and put his arm around Charlie's shoulder.

"She was very angry, Henry."

"I'll go talk to her. Will you be all right?"

Charlie nodded and Henry went climbed off the bed and went out. He took the elevator up one level and knocked on the door.

When it opened, he found himself facing one very angry woman. "Who the hell is that woman in your loft? She scared the boys and I think she may have kicked one of them."

Stepping over the threshold into the upper loft, Henry went on to explain the whys and wherefores of Charlie and her presence in his place to Toni.

Toni merely looked at him. "So…let me get this straight. You're telling me that a woman who is terrified of New York and all it holds dear just went out and got her little hiney on a plane and came here? Without any prior notice? She got a cab and showed up at your office? With her luggage? And now she's living with you? Weren't you supposed to take Betty to see Wicked last night? I thought that was the plan according to your IM to me."

Henry sighed.

There was a noise at the door and Toni went to open it. Twin streaks of jet bounded in, zeroed in on Henry and jumped all over him. Bodies twisting, tails wagging, the two black retrievers were enthusiastic in their greeting.

Laughing happily, he greeted the dogs. "Hi Ozzie. Hi Gibson." He sat down cross-legged on the rug in front of the couch before they could knock him down and endured jumping and licking and in turn he rubbed their bellies.

"Did you miss me? I missed you." The two dogs got up, shook themselves, woofed and jumped on him again.

Toni perched on the arm of the couch and watched 'her' boys, as she thought of all of them wrestling on the floor. "So? The screaming?"

Henry told the dogs to stop. "She's afraid of dogs, Toni." The dogs made a snuffing sound and bounded into the kitchen; they could be heard loudly lapping water from their bowls.

"Ah." She considered. "Not a problem. They won't go to your place."

"Thank you." Henry sighed again. He liked having 'the boys' as they were called in the loft with him. And he liked taking them to the park. He didn't know if that would be a possibility anymore.

"And Betty?"

"It's complicated." The dogs had returned and were curled up in their usual spots, one on either side of Henry's legs, and were dozing.

"How so?"

"She still has a boyfriend."

"Which you already knew about." Toni shook her head and wandered over to her office area. Returning with her cup of tea, she sat down cross-legged on the couch next to him. Cupping her hands around the mug, gazed out into the middle distance. "Henry, I know you're lonely, I know you want to be in a relationship and I know you want to be in it with Betty. You're only human. However, with Charlie being here, you're doing two things: settling and going backwards. There's a reason your and Charlie's relationship ended. You need to find out why she's really come to New York and deal with her and her reasoning as soon as possible. There're three people going to be hurt here: you, Charlie and Betty, if you don't."

They heard a small voice calling for Henry. He got up, dusted off his pants and started for the door.

Toni uncrossed her legs, placed the mug on the floor and she and the boys followed behind him. "I take it our dinner plans are cancelled for this evening."

"I'm sorry, yes. I have to go back downstairs." He reached over and pulled Toni into a hug. "Welcome back," he said with a sad smile.

"Thank you." Toni hugged him back. "Would have been better with food," she groused into his chest. He pulled back and looked at her for about thirty seconds. Releasing her, Henry bent down and patted Ozzie and Gibson, and went to the open door. "Henry." He paused at the door. "I could be wrong, but I see no good coming from this Charlie thing." She watched him leave and pull the door shut behind him.

Coming back to the present, he thought '_and it went steadily downhill from there'. It felt like I was on either a runaway train or being smothered. And Charlie wasn't stupid. She knew things weren't great. She did try, though; I have to give her credit for that._

Using the tactic of pretending to look for Elmy, Henry glanced at Betty who had picked that moment to glance at him. They both quickly looked down at their menus.

I need to find a way to tell her about Charlie and myself. I want to rebuild my friendship with her, no, he corrected himself, I **need** to rebuild it with her. I hope it's not too late.

--

Toni could feel Henry's sadness. She pressed her leg closer to his as a sign of support. She had already caught Ignacio's eye regarding Henry and Betty. Even though Betty hadn't really spoken, Toni liked her. And knowing Henry, she could see why he liked her. She had been hearing about Betty since The Wilhelmina Butt Lift Incident. Then the butterfly costume, sushi, Walter, Christmas, the party, that model, the aborted phone message, Fashion Week, popping and locking, pretzel cart on the corner, daisies, Justin and his singing, the meeting in the cafeteria regarding Wicked, the subway disaster, the admission from Betty to him regarding breaking up with Walter, and the almost kiss.

Then there were in her opinion the stupid things. She had warned him about those on one of the rare evenings Henry was home alone.

"Henry. Are you telling me that you and Charlie keep inviting Betty to lunch and she goes? With you both?" She tore her eyes away from the large monitor where she was editing and looked over at him. "I know what you're doing. Even though you have Charlie, you're trying to keep Betty in your loop so you can see her." Toni sat back in her chair and gazed at him. "You can't have your cake and eat it too. Betty's not stupid. This can only last so long before it blows up in your face."

And it continued for a while longer. The denouement was the birthday party.

Toni remembered their conversation. She had been finishing up a project because she was going to a play that evening.

"Henry!" She had caught him as he was putting down the phone after ordering the cake from Magnolia's. "That is not your favorite cake." She had looked at him through narrowed eyes watching him fidget. She sighed and rubbed her temples. "I'm serious. This is going to blow up in your face, in a very horrible, sad and devastating way."

He had told her about how Charlie was insisting on inviting Betty to her birthday party. She had pointedly stared at him. She had begged him again not to invite Betty. "Henry. Do not do this thing. Please." He had confessed even though it had only been a week, he was feeling smothered by Charlie. She gave him her barnacle to a ship comment.

He told her on the day of the party that Betty had been invited. He had even told her about wiping his mouth after Charlie kissed him at the elevator as he went after Betty to tell her she really didn't have to come to the party. But she had said she would. Then foisting directions to the party on Betty in something called The Closet ('Henry, you do understand that that could be construed as stalking?')

Then the night of the party. Betty came, but not alone. He hadn't known Betty would bring a date. The next night Toni had shaken her head as Henry angrily and jealously recounted Betty's entrance and exit with Gabe Farkas (The Ortho**don**tist!) including Charlie's questions and comments.

And I was livid.

"What? Did you think she'd come alone, just to make YOU happy? You didn't even consider she'd bring a date, did you? Did you?" Toni remembered stalking through the living area of her loft, her voice becoming sharper and louder. She had been trying to pack for a location shoot and corral the boys, who were running all over the place. She was running late and the car service had called up twice from downstairs. And now here was Henry, venting all over the place and just in general in the way. "Whatever possessed you? Are you daft? She is Betty, NOT your little red wagon." She threw up her hands. "She is a mature young woman and she brought a date. What was she supposed to do? Stand around in the corner? Wait for you to deign to talk to her? To dance with her? It was Charlie's birthday party and you are CHARLIE'S man, not Betty's. Your focus was to be on Charlie."

Toni flung herself down on her couch and ran her fingers through her hair. "Henry. You know I love you. You are one of the most self-possessed people I know. You're such a good friend and a good person. But dear God, please don't do anything else, you're almost at the point of no return. Your stubbornness will be your undoing."

"

She looked up at Henry. _So many emotions running across his face_, she thought. _He's breaking and I can't help him. He has to do it for himself by himself. He thinks he knows Betty. She'll prove him wrong. _ _And he will be crushed._

She remembered the night of the slice of cake and then the night of the paychecks and the night of the first Interoffice Expense Report. She watched Henry retreat further into himself a bit more every day _and he wasn't the most gregarious person_ _to begin with_ and Charlie was still around. But she knew it wouldn't be for long.

It wasn't as if she didn't like Charlie…she was all right in small doses. But Toni knew where Henry's heart lay. She had been away during the first two weeks of February and the boys had been with Kyle at his cabin in upstate New York. _Then we all came back to turmoil and craziness._

While Toni understood Charlie's Henrylove, the giggling and the constant touching and being all up under him reminded her of Junior High/High school romances and was just this side of annoying. She and Charlie had had some interesting conversations regarding auras, psychic phenomenon, empowerment and things of that nature. Even though it really wasn't her thing, she had friends who were into these areas and she'd hung around them enough to be able to converse comfortably on several subjects.

She'd had to say something to Charlie about referring to Henry's friends as 'his dorky friends from Accounting' and acting like they were weird. Henry had pretty nice friends even if a couple were a bit eccentric (_and what's wrong with that?). _ She considered herself eccentric. Catching her outside the building one day, she remarked, "You know, Charlie, if you're going to be with Henry, you're going to have to accept his friends as he will have to accept yours. I really don't think it's a good thing to belittle his friends to him or within his hearing. What they do does not define who they are." But Charlie didn't seem to hear her and Henry's friends stopped coming around.

She had gone down at Charlie's insistence and seen the purple couch. Bemusedly, she had glanced over at Henry, but merely nodded her head and made her exit before…well, before her laughter got the better of her.

--

Things begin to spiral downward after the birthday party.

--

Charlie had been gone for almost a month. Things were slowly settling back into their original ways. Spring was here and Henry's mood had gotten a bit better. Henry was running again. They were cooking together again. Ozzie and Gibson were again dividing their time between her loft and Henry's. His friends had begun to visit again. Baseball season had started and when they didn't go to the ballpark, they could be found curled up on the couch with the dogs either in her loft or Henry's (_thank god that empowering couch left with Charlie_), or at Beto's.

She grinned to herself. The fact that Betty and her father came into Beto's was gravy.

We've walked to first and laid down a sacrifice bunt and advanced the runner to second base.

It's a start.


	3. Line Drive to Center Field

Disclaimers: All in Chapter One

Previously in Chapter Two:

"Thank you for offering us seats at your table," said Ignacio, filling the silence following Betty's announcement. He stared curiously at Henry. _So_ **this**_ is m'ija's Henry. __There cannot possibly be __**two**__ Henrys she knows._

_--_

Henry watched Toni talking to Betty and her father. Once he saw the trio headed toward the table he got up and rearranged the chairs into a semi circle so everyone would be facing the television screen. He was standing when Toni returned with the Suarezes. Staring at Betty, he found that his thoughts were jumbled, mouth dry, palms sweaty, and stomach churning. His hands fidgeted briefly with the menu to buy himself some time before having to speak. He didn't trust his voice to remain steady at that moment. Noticing her friend's awkwardness and hesitation, Toni pulled out the chair next to Henry and sat down. The others followed suit.

_--_

Betty picked up the menu in front of her and had trouble focusing on it. Her heart was racing. She hadn't seen Henry in almost two months and even though she didn't want to admit it, she missed him. She really did.

**Chapter 3 – Line Drive to Center Field**

_Beta thanks this time out to VesperRegina who writes a nice adult Henry and Betty. And no, Toni is not Italian and Teri…I hope this answers your baseball comment re: Henry's choice of teams._

_My windmills are still spinning. Read and review. From this chapter on, there will be new characters mixing with the original ones._

_Thanks for coming into Toni and Henry's World._

_--_

The introspective silence at the table was broken by the arrival of Elmy with a full tray of drinks.

"Let's see now," she said, balancing her tray and handing the drinks around, "Tecate for Toni, Guinness for Henry, Raspberry Fizz for Betty and Dos Equis for Tio Ignacio. And Toni, here are your limes." She shifted the tray, "I'll be back to take the food orders in a few minutes," she said turning toward another table.

Toni turned to Ignacio. "So, Mr. Suarez, you've been coming here since Beto's opened. Has it changed much?" she asked.

"Not really," replied Ignacio. "In the beginning, it was smaller and the menu was pretty basic. After the 5th year, the family bought the space next door and expanded out with the space and the menu. This is the original space. I started bringing Betty here when she turned 15." Smiling, he looked over at his daughter. "And we come over together whenever we can, but I've come here alone many times."

Toni looked over at Betty. _Ah. I can start the conversation ball rolling with this._ "15? Quinceañera? How was it?"

"It was great," replied Betty enthusiastically. "It was more like Quinceañera weekend." She smiled at Ignacio.

Watching Betty smiling, Henry realized he was the only one at the table not contributing to the conversation. _I'll just stick my toe in and test the water_, he thought. "Really, Betty? What all did you do?"

Fighting back various feelings, Betty realized everyone was looking at her and waiting for her to answer Henry's question, she decided to consider the table conversation a neutral territory _like Switzerland _she thought, and recounted that special milestone in her life. She even mentioned the broken heel.

"It was just wonderful," she said dreamily, caught up in her memories.

"Did you keep your tiara?" asked Henry.

Startled, Betty looked at him. "How do you know about that?"

"Well," replied Henry, smiling, "it's not just something I know. I have some friends back in Tucson who invited me to their sister's reception." He looked off into the middle distance with fond remembrance. "We had all just graduated from high school and were enjoying a last summer together. Most of us were going away to college. She turned 15 in the middle of July and it was just one more fun party through that final summer. I had a great time." He chuckled to himself. "I even got Señora Bermejo's recipes for Carne en su Jugo and for Chipotle stuffed baked potatoes." Glancing over at Toni, he continued. "When I turned 21, she mailed me my present: her recipe for her tequila citrus au jus..."

"That he will not **share**," she whined plaintively. "I have tried practically everything to get access, even going so far as batting my eyelashes and god love it all, flirting, _flirting_..."

"And that," Henry said as he burst into laughter and looked over at her, "was alternately frightening, bizarre, and hilarious and to this day when I think about it, it still makes me laugh out loud."

Snorting, Toni stuck up her palm. "Talk to the hand, Number Boy," she remarked to him, but rolled her eyes and made a face in Ignacio and Betty's direction. "At least, I drew the line at singing 'My Heart Belongs to Daddy' or 'Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets' with 'stomach' and 'Toni' inserted in the appropriate areas. And don't forget," she retorted, "**you** still don't have that recipe for those tea cakes or the Grand Marnier and cranberry muffins from my mom."

"Touché," he said and toasted her with his beer.

Ignacio watched Betty watching Henry and Toni's by-play. He wanted to talk more about food with them, but Elmy had returned to take their food order.

"All right, everyone. What'll it be? The usual or something different?"

Everyone went with their usual, Elmy went to put the order in and they noticed the game was starting.

The entire bar was silent for the National Anthem. Once it was over the noise level rose back to its regular levels while the game started up.

Ignacio took a sip of his beer and turned to his daughter. "M'ija? Is this the Henry you used to talk about at home?" he asked, sotto voce.

"Yes, Dad, it is," replied Betty morosely.

"Has something gone wrong between you two? Did I make a mistake accepting his friend Toni's invitation to sit with them? We can go home if you want. You've been so unhappy lately and I don't want to see you unhappy."

"No, Dad, nothing's gone wrong, other than the usual stuff, and, no, you didn't make a mistake accepting her invitation to sit at this table." Betty sighed. "It's just that, well, it's complicated. A matter of very bad timing and weird circumstances."

_What am I? Nervous? Apprehensive? Tense? All three? So many things go wrong when we try to come together. I know it's worth it, __**we're**__ worth it, but it's like we're cursed or something._ Betty had been watching as a steady stream of people wandered through Beto's and stopped at their table. Many spoke to her and to Ignacio, but many people spoke to Toni and to Henry. _I should talk to him. But what can I say?_ She thought about it, glanced at Henry and settled on something.

Henry had been talking to Toni while they had been watching the game and he glanced up to see Betty looking at him quizzically.

"Betty? Is something wrong?"

Betty, realizing she had been caught staring, decided to just ask her question. "Tucson is in Arizona, isn't it?

Startled, that Betty was actually directly addressing him, Henry replied, "Yuh." _Oh that's __**good**__. That's __**very**__ good...what am I – 12?_

For a moment, Henry felt like he was in one of those scenes in a movie where the lighting dims to where it's just him in the spotlight at a table and another someone, a tiny someone – and sure enough, there was his 12 year old self, coming from behind his glass of beer, looking woebegone. Henry remembered himself well at that age – same short hair, but with a cowlick he couldn't control at that time, skinny, glasses, backpack, Dungeons and Dragons T-shirt, jeans, Chuck Taylor sneakers.

Henry and Henry12 looked at each other.

_Henry12: Man! This bites! It's just like when we tried to ask Eloise Molinari to the junior high dance._

_Henry: _(sighing)_: Yes, I remember. We're handling this just as well. Eloise was pretty, but we really wanted to ask Lupe Gallegos to the dance, if I recall. _

_Henry12 _(dropping down cross-legged on the table)_: Yeah. She was like Toni - smart, pretty, funny, independent. But Lupe went to the dance with Jason and we were left being the friend. She was the beginning of many friends - who we didn't really want as friends. _Henry12 rolled his eyes and sighed_. You know, we could really be in love with Toni if Betty didn't exist and Toni didn't have Kyle. Man! Don't take this, you know, the wrong way, but we are screwing things up here. Did we learn nothing from watching AMC with Mom? Charlie! What a piece of work. How did that happen? What were we thinking? Talk about issues! But, now, we're back in Bettyland. We like this woman, and this is another chance, but, well, sheesh. What are we gonna do? _Henry remembered also that at 12 his voice hadn't changed yet either.

_Just then another voice spoke up. Both Henry's looked over. And there coming around the other side of the glass was Henry but a different Henry. The black pants, shirt, sweater vest, tie and glasses were still there, but the black newsboy cap and leather bomber jacket were...interesting._

_Confident Henry: Buck up, gentlemen. We can do this._

_Henry12: I'm...uh, scar..._

_Henry: ...nervous._

_Confident Henry: Be that as it may, we're still us and we can do this. Even though, given the many things we do and are responsible for (_and Confident Henry crossed his arms_) I have yet to figure out why this woman totally discombobulates us. I mean, really, we were not this bad with Eloise Molinari._

_Both Henrys looked at him in askance._

_Confident Henry: We weren't_. _And for what it's worth, we aren't going to talk about Charlie anymore...ever. _

_Regular Henry_ (muttering under his breath)_: Easier said than done. _

Henry 12 had a sour look on his face.

_Confident Henry: So. Now. Let's pull together and try to get back into the good graces of this woman whom we like, lust after and are very much in love with. _

_All the Henrys smiled at each other and nodded. Henry watched Confident Henry put his arm around the shoulder of Henry12 as they walked off behind the glass._

Henry blinked and cleared his throat. "Um, Yes."

By this time both Toni and Ignacio were paying attention to the conversation.

"Then, wouldn't you be a Diamondbacks fan?"

Toni let out a loud whoop. "You are so busted! I told you. I told you **someone **was goingto bust you about that jacket."

Henry rolled his eyes. "Yes, you most certainly did, Miss 'I was considering showing you something interesting, but now I'm not'," at which Toni stuck out her tongue and continued looking smug.

"Yes, I am a Diamondback fan. Got the jacket..."

"...And all the myriad pins," interjected Toni,

"...And hat and other paraphernalia to prove it, and see them when they're in town," finished Henry. "However, I also like Willie Randolph. I like his patience, fortitude and work ethic. I've admired his baseball career since I was 12 and he's had a good turn with all the teams he's been on. I like watching a good double play and he has primarily been a second baseman and worked with good shortstops. So, I'm wearing the jacket to support him."

Feeling full of the devil, Toni grinned and asked, "And why else?"

Before Henry could answer, two things happened simultaneously: Carlos Beltran hit a 3 run homer off Andy Pettite putting the Mets up by 4 –0 in the second inning and through the noise of the pandemonium in the place a booming voice could be heard over it all shouting "Speed!" When all had died down, Betty looked up to see two tall men, one Japanese and one Native American looming over their table... The two men surveyed the table, borrowed two chairs from other tables, sat down and made themselves at home. Grinning widely at Henry and his astounded expression , they began to introduce themselves. "I'm Donn Takahashi and this is Adam Wolfwalker," said the Japanese man. "We know Speed and Toni."

Betty piped up. "I'm Betty Suarez and this is my father Ignacio."

Extending his hand, Ignacio replied, "Pleased to meet you."

Both men shook his hand in turn. "Glad to meet you," said Adam, who peered a bit closer at Ignacio. "I've seen you in here before. Two weeks ago. We sat next to each other at the bar.

Ignacio smiled. "Yes, we did and had a good conversation about fish." He looked over at Henry. "Speed? How many nicknames do you have, Henry?"

"A couple." A snort from Toni and a snicker from one of the two men caused him to roll his eyes and correct himself. "A few."

"Why Rico?" interjected Betty, asking about the nickname that had confused her when she first saw Henry and Toni together.

"I can answer that." It was Elmy, setting up a serving jack and placing a large tray with the various ordered dishes, on it. She began placing plates in front of their owners. "Normally when people come in here, especially the regulars, it's usually very casual. You know, jeans, boots, sports jackets, tennis shoes, T-shirts, things like that. Well one night, this one," and she indicated Henry as she put his dinner in front of him, "came in right before the game started. Straight from work. He was wearing the whole corporate shebang. Suit with sweater vest and tie, overcoat and had his briefcase." She paused and smiled. "You would have thought time froze in place it got so quiet in here and everyone and I do mean EVERYONE was looking at him. It was totally silent in here for about 2 minutes. You could only hear the televisions. No glasses thumping, no silverware clinking. No talking." She continued placing food on the table. "It was amazing." She placed the last plate in front of Ignacio.

"And then what happened?" he asked.

Just as Elmy was about to continue, someone called her name from the bar. "I'll be right back."

Betty and Ignacio looked after her and then looked back at Toni who grinned, winked and took a swig of her beer. She was enjoying herself immensely and was glad that unbeknownst to Henry she'd called Adam and Donn and asked them to pop by. They'd all been very worried about Henry and his depression since he'd come back from Tucson.

Father and daughter looked from Toni to Donn and Adam who were studiously watching the game; then finally, they looked at Henry who was quite interested in cutting into his food. Due to the lighting in the bar, they couldn't tell if he was blushing or not.


End file.
